A former mechanical engineer, Craig ‘Patty’ Patterson eventually realized he didn’t want to spend his days working in corporate America, so he left his career as an engineer, stumbled across CrossFit and got into the best shape of his life. This led him to become close friends with CrossFit Founder Greg Glassman, who became his mentor.

Deciding he wanted to be a coach, Patty started personal training clients for $5 an hour and then opened the first CrossFit Affiliate in Canada in 2005, which is now MadLab School of Fitness in Vancouver, B.C.

He immediately saw some huge flaws in the fitness industry—which prevented clients, coaches and the business from being successful—and he has made it his mission to change this.

Hence, for the last 16 years, Patty and our team at the MadLab Group have worked closely with thousands of gym owners and coaches, conducting studies and gathering data along the way, to determine best practices for running a gym. Today, Patty and his team continue to work with gym owners and coaches from around the world to help them become professional coaches and profitable gyms.